BrokenShip

Piedmont

2005-03-18T03:36:00.000-08:00

Geographic region in the eastern United States, running some 600 miles (950 km) between New Jersey (north) and Alabama (south) and lying between the Appalachian Mountains (west) and the Atlantic Coastal Plain (east). It comprises a relatively low rolling plateau (from 300 to 1,800 feet [90 to 550 m]) cut by many rivers and is a fertile agricultural region. Cotton is the most important crop in the southern

Arraiolos Rug

2005-03-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

Embroidered floor covering made at Arraiolos, north of Évora in Portugal. The technique is herringbone or cross-stitch on a linen cloth foundation. Early Arraiolos rugs utilized designs derived from the Persians, from whom the Portuguese learned the craft. Portuguese artisans soon replaced these Persian designs with Portuguese folk-art patterns in more limited

Heterosis

2005-03-15T23:32:00.000-08:00

Also called hybrid vigour the increase in such characteristics as size, growth rate, fertility, and yield of a hybrid organism over those of its parents. Plant and animal breeders exploit heterosis by mating two different pure-bred lines that have certain desirable traits. The first-generation offspring generally show, in greater measure, the desired characteristics of both parents. This

Giraffe

2005-03-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

To the Romans, the giraffe was “camelopardalis” (“spotted camel”), a term that

Anarchism, English anarchist thought

2005-03-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

The first sketch of an anarchist commonwealth in this sense was developed in England in the years immediately following the English Civil Wars (1642–51) by Gerrard Winstanley, a dissenting Christian and founder of the Digger movement. In his pamphlet of 1649, Truth Lifting Up Its Head Above Scandals, Winstanley laid down what later became basic principles among anarchists:

Qiryat Shemona

2005-03-08T03:11:00.000-08:00

Town, at the northwest of the 'Emeq Hula (Hula Valley), extreme northern Israel. The name Qiryat Shemona (“Town of the Eight”) commemorates the eight martyrs of nearby Tel Hay (q.v.). The town, the only urban settlement of the valley, was founded in 1950 as an immigrants' transit camp (ma'abara) on the site of the former Arab village of Khalasah. Metulla, the northernmost settlement of Israel

Vadstena Bracteate

2005-03-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Gold coin-like ornament with runic inscriptions and rich designs, discovered in Östergötland, Swed., probably dating from the 5th century. A 24-character futhark (runic alphabet), arranged in three groups of eight symbols, is engraved on it, followed by eight characters, tuwa tuwa, of unknown, perhaps magical, significance. The bracteate is the oldest and best record of the

Yaddo

2005-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

Formally The Corporation Of Yaddo a working community of writers, composers, and visual artists, located on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. Yaddo is a nonprofit organization founded in 1900 by New York financier Spencer Trask (1844–1909), his wife, the writer Kate, or Katrina, Nichols Trask (1853–1922), and philanthropist George Foster Peabody (1852–1938) for the purpose of providing a place for artists to reside and work in

Bon, Cape

2005-02-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ra's At-tib, peninsula of northeastern Tunisia, 20 miles (32 km) wide and protruding 50 miles (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea between the Gulf of Tunis and Khalij (gulf) al-Hammamat (Hammamet). Cape Bon was the site of the surrender of more than 250,000 Germans and Italians to the Allies in 1943. A region of hills and fertile plains, with a Mediterranean climate and adequate rainfall, it is noted for its irrigated

Benivieni, Girolamo

2005-02-27T01:09:00.000-08:00

As a member of the Florentine Medici circle, Benivieni was well acquainted with the Renaissance

Permafrost

2005-02-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

Arthur H. Lachenbruch, Mechanics of Thermal Contraction Cracks and Ice-Wedge Polygons in Permafrost (1962), is a classic paper on the quantitative interpretation of the formation of ice-wedge polygons in permafrost. Troy L. Péwé, Richard E. Church, and Marvin J. Andresen, Origin and Paleoclimatic Significance of Large-Scale Patterned Ground in the Donnelly Dome Area, Alaska (1969), discusses the origin of ice-wedge casts and relict permafrost in central Alaska and offers paleoclimatic interpretations. R. Dale Guthrie, Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe (1990), discusses fossil carcasses of Ice Age mammals preserved in permafrost. Troy L. Péwé, Geologic Hazards of the Fairbanks Area, Alaska (1982), a highly illustrated work, contains an up-to-date presentation of the greatest geologic hazard to life in polar areas: problems posed by seasonally and perennially frozen ground. G.H. Johnston (ed.), Permafrost: Engineering Design and Construction (1981), is a comprehensive book on construction problems in permafrost areas, with examples mainly from northern Canada. Troy L. Péwé, “Permafrost,” in George A. Kiersch et al. (eds.), The Heritage of Engineering Geology: The First Hundred Years (1991), pp. 277–298, provides an up-to-date, well-illustrated treatment of the origin, distribution, and ice content of permafrost and of engineering problems in permafrost regions.

Earth Sciences, William Smith and faunal succession

2005-02-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

In 1683 the zoologist Martin Lister proposed to the Royal Society that a new sort of map be drawn showing the areal distribution of the different kinds of British “soiles” (vegetable soils and underlying bedrock). The work proposed by Lister was not accomplished until 132 years later, when William Smith published his Geologic Map of England and Wales with Part of

Asaka

2005-02-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

City, Saitama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the Kurume River northwest of Tokyo. It was a post town known as Hizaori during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867); its name was changed to Asaka in 1932. The city has been a centre of the copper-rolling industry since the late 19th century. Connected by rail with Tokyo, it is now a residential suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area.

Paeoniaceae

2005-02-19T04:58:00.000-08:00

The peony family of the order Dilleniales, consisting of the genus Paeonia with about 33 species distributed in Europe, Asia, and western North America. They are perennial herbs or sometimes shrubby plants up to about 2 m (6 feet) tall that grow from stout rootstocks. The leaves are alternately produced along the stems and are divided into three lobes, each lobe being further

Gehry, Frank O.

2005-02-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Gehry's family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1947. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1949–51; 1954) and city planning at Harvard University (1956–57). After working for several architectural firms, he established his

Ribeiro Couto, Rui

2005-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Brazilian poet, short-story writer, and diplomat, one of the leading figures of Modernism in its early years. Originally a symbolist poet, Ribeiro Couto evolved toward the Modernism that exploded upon the Brazilian literary scene in the early 1920s, publishing poems and short stories concerning themes of humble everyday life. Besides his

Melitopol

2005-02-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Melitopol ', city, Zaporozhye oblast (province), Ukraine, on the Molochnaya River. The settlement of Novo-Aleksandrovka grew up in the late 18th century, and in 1841 it became the city of Melitopol. The centre of a fruit-growing area, modern Melitopol has engineering plants and light industries. Pop. (1993 est.) 178,000.

Picrite

2005-02-11T01:08:00.000-08:00

Intrusive igneous rock of ultrabasic (very silica-poor) composition that is composed largely of olivine and augite and is somewhat similar to peridotite. Picrites are dark, heavy rocks and contain a small but variable amount of plagioclase feldspar; hornblende and biotite may also be present. Picrites usually occur in sills (tabular bodies inserted while molten

Skara Brae

2005-02-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

One of the most perfectly preserved Stone Age villages in Europe, which was covered for hundreds of years by a sand dune on the shore of the Bay of Skaill, Mainland, Orkney Islands, Scot. Exposed by a great storm in 1850, four buildings were excavated during the 1860s by William Watt. After another storm in 1926, further excavations were undertaken by the Ancient Monuments branch of

Resistivity

2005-02-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

Resistivity, commonly symbolized by the Greek letter rho, r, is quantitatively

Fiscus

2005-02-04T02:34:00.000-08:00

Vespasian created the fiscus Alexandrinus and fiscus Asiaticus to receive Egyptian and Asian revenues, formerly directed to the aer

Annelid, Distribution and abundance

2005-02-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Annelids are found worldwide in all types of habitats, especially oceanic waters, fresh waters, and damp soils. Most polychaetes live in the ocean, where they either float, burrow, wander on the bottom, or live in tubes they construct; their colours range from brilliant to dull, and some species can produce light. The feather duster (Manayunkia speciosa) inhabits the Great

Mauchly, John W.

2005-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

After completing his education, Mauchly entered the teaching profession, eventually becoming an associate professor of electrical engineering at

Alaska, Health and welfare

2005-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Medical and health clinics and hospitals available to the general public are provided by municipal and borough governments or private

Mu'tadid, Al-

2005-01-30T00:22:00.000-08:00

The son of al-Muwaffaq, al-Mu'tadid was coregent, with al-Mu'tamid, in his father's last years. He became caliph on al-Mu'tamid's death in 892, having forced him to disinherit his own son. As caliph, al-Mu'tadid reorganized the

Lévesque, René

2005-01-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

Lévesque went to school in Gaspésie and afterward to Laval University, Quebec. Already a part-time journalist while still a student, he broke off his law studies to serve in Europe (1944–45) as a reporter and

Trevelyan, G(eorge) M(acaulay)

2005-01-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

The third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, he was educated

Lord

2005-01-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

In the British Isles, a general title for a prince or sovereign or for a feudal superior (especially a feudal tenant who holds directly from the king, i.e., a baron). In the United Kingdom the title today denotes a peer of the realm, whether or not he sits in Parliament as a member of the House of Lords. Before the Hanoverian succession, before the use of “prince” became settled

Fabales

2005-01-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

The unique ecological role of the Fabales is in nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen is an element of all proteins and is an essential component in both plant and animal metabolism. Although elemental nitrogen makes up about 80 percent of the atmosphere, it is not directly available to living organisms; nitrogen that can be metabolized by living organisms must be in the form

Biblical Literature, Spanish versions

2005-01-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known from earlier than the 13th century when James I of Aragon in 1233 proscribed the possession of the Bible in “romance” (the Spanish

Tlaquepaque

2005-01-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

City, north-central Jalisco estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. Formerly known as San Pedro Tlaquepaque, the city lies in the temperate Guadalajara valley, approximately 5,400 feet (1,650 m) above sea level. A suburb of Guadalajara, the state capital, 7 miles (11 km) southeast, Tlaquepaque is primarily a handicrafts centre, known especially for its pottery, textiles, and hand-blown glass.

Oates, Joyce Carol

2005-01-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

Oates's life and work are discussed in Eileen Teper Bender, Joyce Carol Oates, Artist in Residence (1987); Joanne V. Creighton, Joyce Carol Oates (1979), and Joyce Carol Oates: Novels of the Middle Years (1992); Greg Johnson, Understanding Joyce Carol Oates (1987), Joyce Carol Oates: A Study of the Short Fiction (1994), and Invisible Writer: A Biography of Joyce Carol Oates (1998); and Brenda Daly, Lavish Self-Divisions: The Novels of Joyce Carol Oates (1996).

Kamakura Period

2005-01-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

In Japanese history, the period from 1192 to 1333 during which the basis of feudalism was firmly established. It was named for the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the headquarters of his military government, commonly known as the Kamakura shogunate. After his decisive victory over the rival Taira family at the battle of Dannoura (1185), Yoritomo created his own military administration

Chase, William Merritt

2005-01-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Chase studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City and under Karl von Piloty for six years in Munich. He worked for a time in the grays and browns of the Munich school, but in the 1880s

Kamakura Period

2005-01-20T05:56:00.000-08:00

Chemical element, metal of Group IVb of the periodic table, used as a structural material for nuclear reactors.

Huidobro, Vicente

2005-01-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

In full Vicente García Huidobro Fernández Chilean poet, self-proclaimed father of the short-lived avant-garde movement known as Creacionismo (“Creationism”). Huidobro was a prominent figure in the post-World War I literary vanguard in Paris and Madrid as well as at home in Chile, and he did much to introduce his countrymen to contemporary European, especially French,

Cluster, Structure

2005-01-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

The abundance distributions for several kinds of clusters show that there are certain sizes of clusters with exceptional stability, analogous to the exceptional stability of the atoms of the inert gases helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon and of the so-called magic number nuclei—i.e., the sequence of unusually stable atomic nuclei beginning with the a-particle,

Sibley Provincial Park

2005-01-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

Park, southwestern Ontario, Canada, on Sibley Peninsula on the northern shore of Lake Superior, 20 miles (32 km) east of Thunder Bay. Established in 1950, the park has an area of 94 square miles (243 square km). It is the site of the 19th-century village of Silver Islet (including a restored hotel, store, and church), which was at one time the home of miners and lumbermen. Sibley has varied Canadian

Hexameter

2005-01-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

A line of verse containing six feet, usually dactyls (¢ {breve} {breve}). Dactylic hexameter is the oldest known form of Greek poetry and is the preeminent metre of narrative and didactic poetry in Greek and Latin, in which its position is comparable to that of iambic pentameter in English versification. The epics of Homer and of Virgil are composed in dactylic hexameter.

Military Aircraft, Reconnaissance

2005-01-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

Reconnaissance aircraft also carried ECM devices and relied heavily on electronic and infrared sensors to supplement their film cameras. Their tasks were to locate and photograph targets, using radar and conventional photographic techniques, and to probe enemy electronic defense systems to discover and evaluate the types of radio and radar equipment that

Roman Curia

2005-01-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

Latin Curia Romana, the group of various Vatican bureaus that assist the pope in the day-to-day exercise of his primatial jurisdiction over the Roman Catholic church. The result of a long evolution from the early centuries of Christianity, the Curia was given its modern form by Pope Sixtus V late in the 16th century. The work of the Curia has traditionally been associated with the members

Aschelminth, Annotated classification

2005-01-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Marine; dorsal and ventral hypodermal cords; fluid-filled body cavity.

Paragliding

2005-01-13T11:12:00.000-08:00

The pilot is

Christianity, Care for widows and orphans

2005-01-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

From the beginning the Christian congregation cared for the poor, the sick, widows, and orphans. The Letter of James says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” Widows formed a special group in the congregations and were asked to help with nursing care and other diaconic (from diakonia, or faith active

Ramie

2005-01-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

The ramie plant has been cultivated

Johanan Ben Zakkai

2005-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

As is the case with all the Talmudic teachers (the rabbis who interpreted and applied the Oral Law), little strictly biographical information

Death Valley

2005-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

Structural depression in Inyo county, southeastern California, U.S., that is the lowest, hottest, driest portion of the North American continent. Death Valley is about 140 miles (225 km) long, trends roughly north-south, and is from 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km) wide. The valley is bounded on the west by the Panamint Range and on the east by the Black, Funeral, and Grapevine mountains of the Amargosa

Guadalajara, University Of

2005-01-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

Spanish Universidad De Guadalajara, coeducational state-supported autonomous institution of higher learning at Guadalajara, Mex., founded in 1792 and restructured in 1925. Dissident students and professors from the university formed a private Autonomous University of Guadalajara (1935), which continues to exist independently. The original university includes faculties covering a wide range of academic

Adams, Samuel Hopkins

2005-01-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

One of the so-called muckrakers of the period, Adams

Biblical Literature, Letters

2005-01-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

Among the apocryphal letters are: a 2nd-century Epistula Apostolorum (“Epistle of the Apostles”; actually apocalyptic and antiheretical), the Letter of Barnabas, a lost Letter of Paul to the Alexandrians (said to have been forged by followers of Marcion), the late-2nd-century letter called “III Corinthians” (part of the Acts of Paul and composed largely out of the genuine letters

Triberg

2005-01-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

In full Triberg Im Schwarzwald, city, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along the Gutach River, northeast of Freiburg im Breisgau. Situated in a gorgelike valley among tall pinewoods near Triberg Falls, the highest (535 feet [163 m]) waterfall in Germany, Triberg is one of the oldest Black Forest resorts and is noted for its beneficial climate and its winter-sports facilities. The

Radek, Karl (bernhardovich)

2005-01-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

A member of a Galician Jewish family, Radek attended the universities of Kraków and Bern. Having joined the Social Democratic Party of Poland and

Eakins, Thomas

2005-01-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

In 1875 Eakins, who had yet to become well known, decided to paint a major picture for the Centennial Exposition to be held in Philadelphia the following year. He took as his subject a scene that had become familiar to him—Samuel Gross of Jefferson Medical College operating in his clinic before his students. Gross was a magnetic teacher and one of the country's greatest surgeons.

Biblical Literature, Masoretic texts

2005-01-02T01:07:00.000-08:00

The earliest extant Hebrew

Racerunner

2004-12-31T00:08:00.000-08:00

Racerunners may be diversely marked, even within a species, being

Allgemeine Enzyklopädie Der Wissenschaften Und Künste

2004-12-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

(German: “Universal Encyclopaedia of Sciences and Arts”), monumental uncompleted German encyclopaedia of which 167 volumes were published from 1818 to 1889. Founded by a German bibliographer, Johann Samuel Ersch, who began work on it in 1813, the Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste is noteworthy for containing the longest known encyclopaedia article—the article

General Italian Confederation Of Labour

2004-12-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

Italian Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), Italy's largest trade-union federation. It was organized in Rome in 1944 as a nationwide labour federation to replace the dissolved Fascist syndicates. Its founders, who included communists, social democrats, and Christian Democrats, intended it to be the sole labour federation in Italy and to be generally independent of political parties. Within three years, however,

Earth Sciences, Earth history according to Werner and James Hutton

2004-12-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

The two major theories of the 18th century were the Neptunian and the Plutonian. The Neptunists, led by Werner and his students, maintained that the Earth was originally covered by a turbid ocean. The first sediments deposited over the irregular floor of this universal ocean formed the granite and other crystalline rocks. Then as the ocean began to subside, “Stratified

González De Clavijo, Ruy

2004-12-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

A chamberlain to King Henry III of Castile, González was a member of Henry's second embassy to Timur. Departing from El Puerto de Santa María, near Cádiz, on May 22, 1403, he sailed via Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the eastern

Colenso, John

2004-12-26T23:46:00.000-08:00

Colenso became rector of Forncett St. Mary's Church, Norfolk, in 1846 and in 1853 bishop of Natal, where he served until his death.

Guatemala, History Of

2004-12-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Following independence from Spain (1821) and Mexico (1823), Guatemala was the political centre of the United Provinces of Central America. The principal factor in the collapse of the federation was the backcountry uprising in Guatemala led by Rafael Carrera, who established himself as the military arbiter of the state (1838) and, from the executive's chair or from behind it, controlled

Saransk

2004-12-24T04:21:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Mordvinia, in western Russia. It lies along the upper Insar River and on the western flank of the Volga River uplands. The city was founded in 1641 as a stronghold on the Saransk defensive line. It is an important route centre, with railways to Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, and Penza. Industrial development was greatly stimulated in World War II,

Guatemala, History Of

2004-12-24T01:34:00.000-08:00

American symphony orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes in 1918 and was one of the last major American orchestras to be created. Nikolai Sokoloff (1918–33), the first music director, was succeeded by Artur Rodzinski (1933–43), Erich Leinsdorf (1943–46, mostly in absentia; he was serving concurrently in the U.S. armed forces), George Szell (1946–70), Pierre Boulez (1970–72), Lorin Maazel

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer

2004-12-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

A Polish Jew, Jhabvala immigrated to England with her family in 1939. After receiving an M.A. in English (1951) from Queen Mary College, London, she married an Indian architect and moved to India, where she lived for the next 24 years. After 1975 she lived

Canning Basin

2004-12-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Also called Desert Artesian Basin arid sedimentary basin in northwestern Western Australia. Occupying a largely unexplored area of about 150,000 square miles (400,000 square km), it extends south from the Fitzroy River to the De Grey River and from the coast southeast almost to 128° E longitude. The basin underlies the western section of the Great Sandy Desert (q.v.). Most of its interior is covered by parallel sand dunes,

Iacchus

2004-12-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Iakchos, minor deity associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries, the best known of the ancient Greek mystery religions. On the day preceding the commencement of the mysteries, Iacchus' name was invoked with the names of the earth goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore (Persephone) during the procession from Athens to Eleusis, a city in Attica. Probably originally a personification

Los Angeles Times

2004-12-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

It was established in 1881, and in 1884 Harrison Gray Otis purchased and incorporated the Times under a public corporation, The Times-Mirror Company (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). The paper prospered, soon becoming an important

Condé, Louis-henri, 7e Prince De (7th Prince Of), Duc (duke) De Bourbon

2004-12-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Condé was the son of Louis III de Condé and Mademoiselle de Nantes, an illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV. After the death of Louis XIV on Sept. 1, 1715, Condé became duc de Bourbon and was appointed head of a council of regency by Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, regent for King Louis XV. Nevertheless,

Augsburg, Peace Of

2004-12-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

The emperor Charles V's provisional ruling on the religious question, the Augsburg Interim of 1548, had been overthrown in 1552 by the revolt of the Protestant elector Maurice of Saxony

Uttar Pradesh

2004-12-16T01:55:00.000-08:00

The most populous state of India. Lying in north-central India, it is bordered by Nepal and the Indian state of Uttaranchal to the north, the Indian states of Haryana and Rajasthan and the union territory of Delhi to the west, the state of Madhya Pradesh to the south, the state of Bihar to the east, and the states of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh to the southeast. Uttar Pradesh extends

Europe, History Of

2004-12-16T00:57:00.000-08:00

History of European peoples and cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Europe is a more ambiguous term than most geographic expressions. Its etymology is doubtful, as is the physical extent of the area it designates. Its western frontiers seem clearly defined by its coastline, yet the position of the British Isles remains equivocal. To outsiders, they seem

Susanoo

2004-12-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

Susanoo descended into the land of Izumo in western Japan

Basal Metabolic Rate (bmr)

2004-12-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

Index of the general level of activity of an individual's body metabolism, determined by measuring his oxygen intake in the basal state—i.e., during absolute rest, but not sleep, 14 to 18 hours after eating. The higher the amount of oxygen consumed in a certain time interval, the more active is the oxidative process of the body and the higher is the rate of body metabolism. The

Haddon, Alfred Cort

2004-12-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, he distinguished himself

Kunlun Mountains, Plant and animal life

2004-12-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

The desert or, at best, steppe conditions prevailing throughout the Kunluns inhibit development of vegetation. Much of the terrain consists of rock deserts. Occasional stagnant water pools provide browsing and water for several wild ungulates, such as the Tibetan gazelle and Tibetan goat antelope (chiru), along with large herds of wild asses (kiang) and clusters

Muhavura

2004-12-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Volcan Muhabura, extinct volcano at the easternmost end of the Virunga Mountains in east central Africa. It lies northeast of Lake Kivu on the border between Uganda and Rwanda. It is more than 13,500 ft high, and its crater contains a lake. The volcano forms part of the Virunga National Park, which is the home of the mountain gorilla.

Cinchona

2004-12-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

Four species of Cinchona were cultivated for many years, primarily in Java and also in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Their bark was processed to obtain quinine, which is

V-1 Missile

2004-12-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

More than 8,000 V-1s were launched against London from June 13, 1944, to March 29, 1945, with about 2,400 hitting the target area. A smaller number were fired against Belgium. The rockets were launched from the Pas-de-Calais area on the northern coast of France and subsequently from other sites in German-occupied

Iron Crown Of Lombardy

2004-12-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is composed of a broad circle of six plates of gold joined to each other by hinges and

Hesilrige, Sir Arthur, 2nd Baronet

2004-12-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

A native of Leicestershire, Hesilrige succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1629. He sat in both the Short and Long Parliaments

Yakushi-ji

2004-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Temple complex dedicated to Yakushi, the Healing Buddha, in Nara, Japan. It was established about 690 outside Nara, and in 718 it was refounded within the city. The only one of the original buildings to have survived is the three-storied eastern pagoda, which is one of the finest examples of religious architecture of the Nara period (AD 710–784). Yakushi-ji has many treasures of Japanese

Allgood, Sara

2004-12-05T05:40:00.000-08:00

In 1903 Allgood joined the Fays' Irish National Theatre Society as Princess Buan in The King's

Athol

2004-12-03T05:59:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Worcester county, north-central Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on the Millers River, north of Quabbin Reservoir. Settled in 1735, it was known by the Algonquian name of Pequoiag until it was incorporated in 1762 and renamed for Blair Atholl, the Scottish home of the dukes of Atholl. An early industrial centre, it had lumber, textile, and tanning mills. Its modern economy

Metallophone

2004-12-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

China had such instruments by the 7th century. Metallophones had reached northern Europe from Indonesia

Gnotobiosis

2004-12-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

(from the Greek meaning “known life”), condition of life in which only known kinds of organisms are present. Gnotobiotic organisms are of two major types: germfree, that is, free of all known contaminants; and gnotophoric, bearing a single known contaminant, usually administered as part of an experiment. The term “germfree,” however, is often used loosely to indicate all organisms

Activation Energy

2004-11-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, the minimum amount of energy that is required to activate atoms or molecules to a condition in which they can undergo chemical transformation or physical transport. In terms of the transition-state theory (q.v.), the activation energy is the difference in energy content between atoms or molecules in an activated or transition-state configuration and

National Action Bloc

2004-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

The National Action Bloc attracted young, educated Moroccans of many different views. Informally in existence since 1930, under the leadership of such notable figures

China

2004-11-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

The People's Republic of China is situated in eastern Asia, with coastlines on the Yellow Sea and the East and South China seas. Area: 9,572,900 sq km (3,696,100 sq mi), including Tibet and excluding Taiwan. (See Taiwan, below.) Pop. (1994 est., excluding Taiwan): 1,192,300,000. Cap.: Beijing (Peking). Monetary unit: renminbi yuan, with (Oct. 7, 1994) an interbank rate of 8.53 yuan to U.S. $1 (13.57 yuan = £ 1 sterling). President in 1994, Jiang Zemin (Chiang Tse-min); premier,

Tabari, At-

2004-11-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

Franz Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography, 2nd ed. (1968); O. Loth, “Tabari's Korankommentar,” Zeitschrift der deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 35:588–628 (1881). A French translation of the abridged Persian version was made by H. Zotenberg, entitled Chronique de Tabari (reprinted 1958). E. Marin translated a portion of the History into English, entitled The Reign of al-Mu'tasim (1951). The Commentary has been edited by M.M. and A.M. Shakir (1954– ) under the title Tafsir al-Tabari. M.J. de Goeje, et al. edited the History, known as the Annals, 15 volumes with index and glossary (1879–1901, reprinted 1964). A new translation of the History is in progress. The first three volumes are The 'Abbasid Revolution, trans. and ed. by John Alden Williams (1985); The Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad, trans. and ed. by Franz Rosenthal (1985); and The Crisis of the 'Abbasid Caliphate, trans. and ed. by George Saliba (1985).

Brace, Charles Loring

2004-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

The descendant of a Hartford family long prominent in religious and political life, Brace was educated at Yale University and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Asked

Likin

2004-11-26T00:03:00.000-08:00

The tax originated in 1853 in the central Chinese province of Kiangsu as a method of financing troops to aid in suppressing the great Taiping Rebellion (1850–64). With the great volume of trade carried on in China

Alexander

2004-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Alexander carried on the hopeless struggle of the crown against the growing power of the Polish senate and nobles, who deprived him of financial control and curtailed his prerogative. For want of funds, Alexander was unable to assist the Grand Master

Narodnik

2004-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

Plural Narodniki, or Narodniks, member of a 19th-century socialist movement in Russia who believed that political propaganda among the peasantry would lead to the awakening of the masses and, through their influence, to the liberalization of the tsarist regime. Because Russia was a predominantly agricultural country, the peasants represented the majority of the people (narod): hence the name of

Amravati

2004-11-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Amraoti, town, northeastern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies 85 miles (137 km) west of Nagpur. The town occupies an important position near passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna River basin (west) and the Wardha River basin (east). A growing industrial centre, it is expanding toward nearby Badnera; its cotton mills supply Bombay, Calcutta, and

Nashville 1960s Overview

2004-11-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

From 1958 through 1962 some of the biggest international hits were made by country singers recording in Nashville, Tennessee, including the Everly Brothers, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Leroy Van Dyke, Jimmy Dean, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Horton. Nevertheless, the market for “pure” country was shrinking fast, and by 1961 only about 80 radio stations programmed country music.

Janin

2004-11-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

The original ancient settlement is mentioned in the Amarna Letters, a series of 14th-century-BC diplomatic documents

France, History Of, The new regime

2004-11-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

By sweeping away the old web of privileges, the August 4th decree permitted the Assembly to construct a new regime. Since it would take months to draft a constitution, the Assembly on August 27 promulgated its basic principles in a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. A rallying point for the future, the declaration also stood as the death certificate of

Alaska, Explorations

2004-11-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

As early as 1700, native peoples of Siberia reported the existence of a huge piece of land lying due east. An expedition appointed by the Russian tsar and led by a Danish mariner, Vitus Bering, in 1728 determined that the new land was not linked to the Russian mainland, but because of fog it failed to locate North America. On Bering's second voyage, in 1741, the peak of Mount St. Elias was sighted,

Skunk Cabbage

2004-11-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

Any of three species of plants that grow in bogs and meadows of temperate regions. In eastern North America the skunk cabbage is Symplocarpus foetidus, which belongs to the arum family (Araceae, order Arales; q.v.). In French-speaking parts of Canada it is called tabac du diable (“devil's tobacco”) or chou puant (“stinking cabbage”). It is a fleshy, herbaceous plant with large leaves,

Neoprioniodiform

2004-11-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

Conodont, or small toothlike phosphatic fossil of uncertain affinity, that is characterized by a main terminal cusp, varying numbers of subsidiary cusps or denticles that may be completely fused, and an underside region that is deeply grooved. Several genera are included in the neoprioniodiforms, including excellent guide fossils for the Ordovician